Smartphones have taught us to get excited over software–apps and OSes–but Samsung’s new Android phone, the Moment, is all about hardware.

The device is quite possibly the fastest smartphone on the market, with a screaming 800 MHz chip. The difference shows. Everything from multi-tasking to landscape view happens uber quick on the Moment. My test device feels at least comparable, if not superior to, my iPhone 3G S in snappiness. The iPhone and most other Android devices muddle along at just over 500 MHz.

The disappointing side of all that speed? It’s being wasted on a slider phone with a keyboard. Samsung has setup their otherwise-unadorned version of the Google OS to spurn the on-screen keyboard, so you’re expected to use the slider for textual input. After weeks spent using HTC’s Hero, the slickest of the Android devices thus far, I was waiting for all that 800 MHz horsepower to make Android’s on-screen keyboard fly. Alas, it never makes an appearance. At least the landscape mode is jerk-free, something that can’t even be said for the iPhone 3G S.

Samsung has done the Moment justice, otherwise, with 32GB of available storage on an SD card, a gorgeous 3.2-inch AMOLED display, and Sprint’s capable 3G network. Still, the Moment isn’t as svelte as its keyboard-less competitors, which makes it beg for a larger (perhaps iPhone-sized) screen.

It will be available November 1 for $180 on a two-year contract after the obligatory rebate hassle.CD